Automatic collecting and delivering apparatus.



D. M. MAIN. AUTOMATIO, GOLLEOTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1908.

Patented Jan, 5, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

D. M. MAIN,

AUTOMATIC GOLLECTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION rum) NOV.10, 1902.

908,589. Patented Jan.5,1909.

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DAVID M. MAIN, OF CHENEY, KANSAS.

AUTGMATIC COLLECTING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Application filed November 10, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID M. MAIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cheney, in the county of Sedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Automatic Collecting and Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to apparatus for collectin and delivering mail automatically in rural districts, and its object is to provide a motor-propelled receptacle designed to be mounted on an over read track or cable and which will operate to collect and deliver parcels of mail at various stations along the rail or cable.

Another object is to provide a magazine within the carrier which is of improved construction and designed to successively discharge the parcels of mail into the delivery apparatus of the carrier, so that they will be delivered at the proper stations along the route.

A still further object is to provide simple and efficient means actuated by the carrier at each station for opening the trap of the discharge apparatus of the carrier at a pre determined point during the movement of the carrier so that the contents of the said carrier will be discharged into a receptacle provided therefor.

Another object is to provide means whereby the carrier, upon reaching a station, will elevate a receptacle into position to receive the mail to be delivered, this elevation occurring without necessitating the stoppage of the carrier.

A still further object is to provide means operated by the elevation of the receptacle for automatically delivering mail to the carrier as it passes the station.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a perspec tive view of the carrier and theapparatus located at one of the stations, the. parts being shown in the position assumed by them during the interchange of mail. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the carrier and showing the station mechanism in elevation, the parts being shown in Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

Serial No. 461,885.

the positions assumed by them during the completion of the upward movement of the receptacle and the parts movable therewith. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the middle portion of the carrier and showing the delivery mechanism. Fig. 4 is aperspective of the two doors of the delivering and receiving compartments of the carrier and showing the connections therebetween. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the holders of the mail conveyer within the car rier. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the ratchet mechanism used in connection with the conveyer.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference A designates a cable or track de signed to be supported in any suitable manner above the ground and a motor-propelled carrier B is designed to travel upon this track. This carrier consists of a body 1 carrying the motor, (not shown) and a housin 2 extending rearwardly from said body, both the body and the housing being provided with upstanding brackets 3 on which are mounted the supporting wheels 4 of the carrier, it being understood that any suitable mechanism may be provided for driving one or both of these wheels from the motor.

An outlet opening 5 is formed in the bottom of the housing 2 at the rear end thereof and surrounding and extending downward from this opening is a discharge chute 6 nor mally closed at the bottom by means of a door 7 hinged, as at 8, so as to swing downwardly when desired. Another housing 9 extends rearwardly from the chute 6 and constitutes a receiver, said housing being of any desired length and being provided at one side with an opening 10 normally closed by means of a door 11, hinged to the housing at the upper edge of the door and disposed to swing inwardly. This door 11 is provided with an outstanding crank arm 12 connected by means of a link 13 with the upper or inner surface of the door 7, said link being preferably provided with a laterally extending arm 14, pivotally mounted within an eye 15 and arranged upon the door 7 as shown particularly in Fig. 4. The door 11 is designed to hold the door 7 normally closed, said door 11 being maintained normally closed by gravity and being heavier than the door 7, so as to more than counterbalance it. An arm 16 extends from the hinged end of door 7 and normally extends laterally from the housing 9.

regular intervals with ears 21 in which are journaled trunnions 22 extending laterally from trough-like holders 23. Springs 24 connect these holders with the chains so as to hold them normally in predetermined relation to each other and tripping arms 25 extend from each holder and between the chains, said arms being disposed, as the holders successively assume positions above the chutes 6, to come into contact with a roller 26 or other enlargement upon the shaft 18, thus causing the holders to successively tilt downwardly as shown in Fig. 3, and discharge their contents into the chute 6 and onto the closed bottom door 7. The shaft 18 has a gear 27 attached thereto, said gear meshing with a larger gear 28 journaled upon the side of housing 2 and carrying a ratchet wheel 29. A sleeve 30 is mounted to rotate relative to the gear 28 and ratchet wheel 29 and preferably is so constructed as to inclose the ratchet wheel, there being a spring-pressed pawl 31 within the sleeve which normally engages the ratchet wheel, so that when said sleeve is partly rotated in one direction the pawl slips over the teeth of the ratchet Wheel, but, when the sleeve is partly rotated in the opposite direction, the pawl engages the ratchet wheel and causes a partial rotation thereof and of the gear 28. An arm 32 extends downwardly from the sleeve 30 and is for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

At each point along the rail A where an interchange of mail is to be effected a novel form of apparatus is to be provided. This apparatus includes parallel standards 33 and 34, supporting a rail 35 which is parallel with the rail or cable A", and has one end preferably curved, as indicated at 36, while its other end extends between upwardly inclined deflecting faces 37 formed upon the upper end of the standard 33. Parallel guide-rods 38 extend longitudinally of the standard 34, and slidably mounted on these rods is a receptacle 39, open at the top and extending laterally beneath the rail or cable A, said receptacle having one wall extended upwardly therefrom as indicated at 40 and provided at its upper edge with a laterally extending flange 41 extending under the arm 16 heretofore referred to. A cable 42 is secured to this wall 40 of receptacle 39 and extends over a guide sheave 43 mounted on the upper portion of the standard 38, the end of the cable being attached to a slide 44 mounted on the rail 35. Another sheave 45 is supported by the standard 34 and mounted thereon is a cable 46, one end of which is attached to the wall 40 of the receptacle 39, while a weight 47 is secured to the other end of said cable and acts as a counterbalance for facilitating the elevation of the receptacle 39 and for reducing the speed of said receptacle during its downward or return movement, as hereinafter described.

A lever 48 is pivotally mounted upon one end of the receptacle 39 and is provided at one end with a mail holder 49 in the form of a box-like receptacle, while the other end of the lever carries an antifriction roller 50, said lever when in its normal or horizontal position being sufiiciently long to support the roller 50 beneath the path of the carrier B so that when said lever is elevated the roller will strike the bottom of the carrier as hereinafter set forth. Stop pins 51 and 52 are provided for limiting the movement of the lever 48 as shown in Fig. 1. Another standard 53 is located adjacent the point where interchange of mail is to be effected, this standard being located at the other side of the rail A and carrying a tripping arm 54 which extends into the path of the arm 32 hereinbefore referred to. It is of course understood that the doors 7 and 11 are normally closed and that the holders 23 are designed to contain the articles of mail to be delivered at the different stations, said holders being arranged in the same order as are the stations along the route.

After the various holders have been filled and the doors 7 and 11 closed the motor-propelled carrier is started on its trip, the mail for the first station being located upon the door 7 where it is ready for delivery. As the carrier approaches the first station the slide 44, which is normally located adjacent the upper end of standard 34, is contacted by a vertically swinging arm 51 on the front end of the carrier and slid longitudinally along the rail 35, thus elevating the receptacle 39 and the parts connected thereto. Just as the door 7 assumes a position above the near end of receptacle 39 the inwardly directed flange 41 strikes arm 16 and during the completion of the upward movement of receptacle 39 this flange swings the arm so as to open door 7 as shown in Fig. 2 and cause the articles, which are resting on the door 7, to drop into receptacle 39. When the door 7 swings downwardly in the manner described, it pulls on the link 13, and this in turn actuates the crank arm 12 so as to swing the door 11 inwardly. While this operation is taking place the door-opening 10 of the receiving compartment 9 has assumed a position directly beside the holder 49 and during the upward movement of the receptacle 39 the roller 50 strikes the bottom of the receiver 9 and causes the lever 48 to swing suddenly upon its pivot, so as to direct the holder 49 toward the opening 10.

The movement of lever 48 will be brought to a sudden stop by its coming into contact With pin 52. The mail will at this time be projected from the holder 49 and into the opening 10, after which lever 48 will rebound and assume its normal position on the in 51. The two operations of delivering and receiving mail occur practically simultaneously and are completed as soon as the receptacle S9 completes its upward movement. This movement is completed when slide 44 assumes a position between the inclined faces 37, at which time the arm 51 rides upward on said faces and releases the slide. The weight of the receptacle and the contents thereof is then suii'icient to return the slide to initial position, the weight a? serving to prevent the receptacle from moving downwardly too rapidly. Immediately subsequent to the interchange of mail and as the receptacle begins its downward movement, the arm l6 is released from the flange 41 and the doors 1]. and 7 thus returned to their closed pesi tions. At the instant that these doors close 'the arm 32 is tripped by the arm 54 so as to cause the gear 28 to partly rotate and thus produce a rotary movement of the smaller gear 27. The endless conveyer within the carrier housing 2 is thus shifted so as to bring another holder 23 into aosition where its contents will be dumped on to the door 7, ready to be delivered at the next ion.

The foregoing operation is repeated at each of the stations along the route.

It is of course to be understood that vari ous changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the ad vantages of the invention.

What is claimed is 1* 1. The combination with upwardly mo able delivering mechanism; of a motor-propelled elevated collecting device, and means operated by said device for elevating said mechanism to the collecting device.

2. The combination with upwardly movable delivering mechanism, of a motor-propelled elevated collecting device, means operated by the collecting device for elevating said mechanism to said device, and means operated by the elevation of the delivering mechanism for actuating said mechanism to discharge the contents thereof into the collecting device.

3. The combination with an upwardly movable delivering receptacle; of a motorpropelled elevated collecting device, means operated by said device for elevating the mechanism to the said device, and means movable with the delivering rece tacle and cooperating with the collecting cevice at a.

predetermined elevation to actuate said receptacle to deliver the contents thereof into the collecting device.

4. The combination with an upwardly movable delivering receptacle tiltably mounted of a motor-propelled elevated carrier, means operated by the carrier for elevating the delivering receptacle during the mov ment of the carrier, means movable with said receptacle for contacting with the carrier during the upward movement of the receptacle to tilt said receptacle and discharge the contents thereof into the carrier.

5. The combination with an upwardly movable tiltable delivering device; of a motor-propelled elevated carrier, and means operated by said carrier for elevating the delivery device against the carrier to tilt said device during the movement of the carrier.

6. The combination with an upwardly movable tiltable delivering device; of an elevated carrier, means operated by the carrier for elevating the delivering device into contact with the carrier to tilt said device into position to discharge its contents into the carnor.

7. The combination with an upwardly movable delivering device; of an elevated carrier, means operated by the carrier during the movement thereof for elevating device and shifting the same to discharge its contents into the carrier.

8. The combination with an upwa'dly movable delivering device; of an elevated carrier, means operated by the carrier during the movement thereof, for elevating the delivering d vice and shifting the same to discharge its contents into the carrier, and means for automatically releasing the delivering device from the carrier.

9. The combination with a guide rail, supports therefor, and deflecting means adjacent one end of the rail; of an upwardly movable delivering device adjacent one of the supports, a slide upon the guide rail and connected to said device, an elevated carrier, and means upon the carrier for engaging the slide to shift it longitudinally of the rail and elevate the delivering device, said means be ing movable against the deflecting means to release the slide.

10. The combination with a guide rail, a slide thereon, deflecting means and supports for the rail; of an upwardly movable delivering device adjacent one of the supports, a flexible connection between said device and the slide, an elevated carrier, and means upon the carrrier for automatically engaging the slide to shift it longitudinally upon the rail and elevate the delivering device, said means being movable against the deflecting means to release the slide, said carrier constituting means for shifting the delivering device during the elevation thereof to discharge the contents of said device.

11. The combination with an elevated carrier; of delivering mechanism comprising a vertically movable lever, one end of said lever extending below the side of the carrier, a receptacle mounted upon the lever, and means operated by the carrier for elevating the said lever and receptacle to tilt the lever against the receiver and discharge the contents of said receptacle into the receiver.

12. The combination with an u wardly movable receptacle; of motor-prope led elevated delivering mechanism having a closure, and means operated by said mechanism for elevating the receptacle to open the closure.

13. The combination with an upwardly movable receotacle; of an elevated wheelsupported de ivering device, a closure for said device, means operated by said device for elevating the receptacle during the movement of said device to open the closure while above the receptacle, and means for automatically releasing the receptacle to permit it to return to normal position.

14. The combination with an upwardly movable receptacle and a tiltable delivering device movable therewith; of an elevated carrier including delivering and receiving mechanism, means operated by the carrier for ele vating the receptacle and tiltable delivering device during the movement of the carrier, and means operated by the upwardly moving receptacle for opening the delivering and receiving mechanism of the carrier.

15. The combination with an upwardly movable counterbalanced receptacle and a tiltable delivering device movable therewith; of an elevated carrier including delivering mechanism and a receiver, means operated by the carrier for elevating the receptacle andtiltable delivering device during the movement of the carrier, closures for the delivering mechanism and the receiver of the carrier, means operated by the receptacle during the upward movement thereof for opening the delivering mechanism and the receiver, said tiltable delivering device being shiftable against the receiver during the elevation of the receptacle to deliver its contents to the receiver.

16. The combination with a fixed tripping device; of an elevated carrier comprising a wheel supported housing, an endless conveyer within the housing, tiltable holding devices upon the conveyer, and means upon the carrier and shiftable by the tripping device for actuating the conveyer.

17. The combination with a tripping device; of an elevated carrier comprising a motor-propelled housing, an endless conveyer within the housing, tiltable holders carried by the conveyer, an outlet chute extending from the housing, and means actuated by the tripping device for shifting the conveyer during the movement of the carrier to direct the contents of a holder into the chute.

18. The combination with a tripping de vice; of an elevated carrier comprising a motor-propelled housing, a discharge chute eX- tending downwardly from the housing, an endless conveyer within the housing, tiltable holders mounted upon the conveyer yielding means for holding said holders normally in predetermined positions relative to the conveyer, means for successively tilting the holders upon the chute, and means upon the carrier and actuated by the tripping device for shifting the conveyer during the movement of the carrier.

19. The combination with an elevated carrier including a housing, a discharge spout, an endless conveyer within the housing for directing articles into the spout, means for automatically actuating the conveyer during the movement of the carrier, and a closure for the spout; of a vertically movable receptacle disposed below the path of the carrier, means operated by the carrier for elevating the receptacle during the movement of the carrier, and means operated by the receptacle during the elevation thereof for opening the spout.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID M. MAIN.

Vvitnessesz E. E. SWEET, NED DEWEY. 

